1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to installing barbed wire from a spool onto fence rails. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device that can support the barbed wire spool, the device being transportable by an ATV for installation of the barbed wire.
2. Related Art
Barbed wire is rolled from a spool making it heavy to carry, and somewhat difficult to handle due to the barbs. Devices have been made to enable attachment of the bail of barbed wire to a tractor so that the wire can be unspooled and attached as the tractor moves along. For more rugged terrain, support systems for use with ATVs have been suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,986 entitled “Apparatus For Stringing And Retrieving Fencing” discloses a trailer to pull behind an ATV to unspool wire for attachment. The trailer supports guides disclosed for electric fence wire which, as opposed to barbed wire, will more easily flow through an installation guide mechanism.
Not all ATVs, however, are equipped with a trailer hitch, and pulling a trailer over rugged terrain may not be practical. In such cases, the spool of wire is usually hand carried. Likewise, a trailer or carriage is somewhat complex and difficult to store, and the wire on the trailer is shown supported at a low angle relative to the fence rail making installation more difficult. Systems that directly mount to the ATV, and do not require a trailer have been disclosed, but the systems have some drawbacks due to complexity and the possibility of off-balancing the ATV.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,351 entitled “Wire Roller” discloses one such system that can be attached to a rack on an ATV, rather than a trailer, and engages the tire of the vehicle which serves to unroll wire from a spool. The rolling and unrolling mechanism has some complexity, and the wire is supported horizontally at a low position relative to the fence rail. The wire spool which is somewhat heavy is supported by the rack and hangs behind the ATV, well off the normal center of gravity likely causing the ATV to rare up and overturn.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,113 entitled “Wire Reel Carrier” discloses another system that supports a wire spool horizontally from an ATV rack. The system carries the spool off the rear of the ATV rack, again likely causing the ATV to overturn. The spool is horizontally mounted with end plates on both ends of the support holding the spool of wire included creating a somewhat complex mechanism to prevent the spool from coming off.